Any tips on mining?

[mraguia]

I seem to have runs were I get 2 or 3 runes every time then an extended run of only 1 rune. The method I've been using is I broke the mine down in 3rds & I probe those areas. Any help?

[ogreve]

I've been wanting to write something about mining strategies for a while. I've noticed a few things of interest and these are helpful.
Firstly, a VERY important finding is that (at least on the iPhone version) each rune is positioned individually AFTER the foregoing one has been found. Therefore, the precise position of only 1 rune at a time is fixed. I know this for a fact as my triangulation strategy has e.g. given a "too far" first and then when a rune has been found and I put a bomb right next to the spot that previously said "too far", it then at times give me a "close" or "very close", the latter of which by definition should have given a "close" on the firstly bombed spot if the positions of ALL runes had been fixed from the moment the mining starts. Keep this well in mind, as it means that previously fruitlessly probed spots can again contain a rune after a rune has been found!
In fact, I quite often see the situation appear that the second (and sometimes even third) rune is positioned very closely to where the first one was just found. I recently had a situation where 3 of them were right next to one another!
As for my triangulation method: I tend to bomb the centre first, if that doesn't give a "close" or "very close" outcome, I bomb the corners, but not in the very corner, but rather some 2 grid spaces away from them in both directions so they have a good radius around them for getting the "close" or "very close" outcomes.
If something gives me a "very close" I know the rune is right adjacent to it. I then try one adjacent corner spot and check the outcome. If it's a "close" then the rune is on the opposite side.
If something gives me a "close" I know the rune is not right adjacent to it, but at 2 spots away from it. I then choose a diagonal spot that's two grid positions away from the spot that gave the "close" outcome. If it gives a "too far" outcome, I try any of the other 2-grid away corner positions, etc.
Using this strategy, per bomb I most often get 2 runes. Sometimes only 1, sometimes 3 and once I was extremely lucky and got 4! That was only once though, and I vividly recall that on the very last bombed spot I directly hit a rune. That was a GREAT outcome! I wonder if anyone has ever gotten more than 4 boms in a single run, without refilling...

HTH,
Olafo

[mraguia]

Thanks. Only 1 being fixed makes a lot of sense because I've had similar issues to you.

[chippychan]

Something else I wanted to add is that sometimes when you find a rune there is another rune almost right next to it (either horizontally, vertically or diagonally). This doesn't happen all the time but it happens often enough that I always check the area right after finding one.

More than once I've found 3 runes in a horizontal or vertical line right next to each other. :rolleyes:

I also re-check areas I've already checked after finding a rune because sometimes one appears there.

[SummerNightSky]

I think it'd be better if all the runes were fixed when you went mining. It's pretty deceptive of TL/Storm8, especially considering the game likes to prod you to spend gems to refill your gauge ("Your mine isn't empty!" or something like that).

[chippychan]

I think it'd be better if all the runes were fixed when you went mining. It's pretty deceptive of TL/Storm8, especially considering the game likes to prod you to spend gems to refill your gauge ("Your mine isn't empty!" or something like that).

I agree!

I don't think your mine can ever be 'empty' unless there are just no more spaces to hit with bombs. :rolleyes: